Welcome

Welcome to Dr. Westover's English 1028 spring semester blog. Although the blog is public (meaning it can be read by anyone in the world), it is primarily intended for ETSU students enrolled in ENGL 1028, Section 2.

The blog exists so that our discussions can be fluid, moving in and out of the classroom, and so that you always have a forum available to you. The blog is always open. Others will benefit from what you have to say, and you will benefit from their reactions. The blog also helps ensure that you think critically about reading assignments before you come to class.

Beyond self-initiated posts, which you may upload as often as you like, you are required to post one response per week to one of my writing prompts. I post two groups of prompts each week, one for each day we meet. I encourage you to respond on both days, but only one response per week is required. You can also receive credit by commenting on someone else's post. Each response should be somewhere between 200 and 400 words in length, and it must be posted before class. In other words,when I post prompts on Tuesday night in preparation for Thursday's class, you will need to respond before Thursday’s class in order to receive credit. When I post prompts on Thursday, you will need to respond before Tuesday. We usually begin class discussions with your responses, so posting on time is crucial.

The cut-off time for posting is 9:00 A.M on the morning of class, and these responses cannot be made up.

I expect your responses to be thoughtful and genuinely insightful. I also expect them to be well-written. Do not assume that because you are writing on a blog you can abandon punctuation, spelling, grammar, and paragraph structure. Don't dash something off at the last minute and expect it to be acceptable.

In order to join the blog, you must first send me your email address. Send it to my GoldMail account (westover@etsu.edu). The body of the email should contain your full name and section number. In return, I will send you an invitation to the blog. Accept that invitation by following the appropriate links and becoming a contributor. If you are uncomfortable using your full name as your contributor name, you may use your last name only (as I have done) or even your initials. Please don't use a moniker.

For blog registration purposes, you may use any email address you wish, but please be aware that all other correspondence with me should be through GoldMail.

Blogging is a required component of this course, and you will need to contribute as early as next week, so please register right away.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to a great semester.